Garment hanger



-De. 15.1942. TYL 2,305,565

GARMENT HANGER Filed Dec, 18, 1939 INVENTOR. BY 0/4/2155 73 4 5R Patented Dec. 15, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GARMENT HANGER Charles Tyler, Redlands, Calif.

Application December 18, 1939, Serial No. 309,859

5 Claims.

This invention relates to garment hangers, and

has for an object the provision of a garment hanger of such improved and simplified design that it is possessed of manifold advantages from the standpoint of the manufacturer and distributor as well as from that of the user.

A more detailed object of my invention is the provision of a garment hanger wherein the element upon which a garment supported thereby is engaged consists merely of a horizontal and preferably rigid bar supported solely from below, leaving its top and sides unobstructed so that a garment can be laid upon the bar with the ends of the garment hanging downwards therefrom upon opposite sides thereof, thus reducing to a minimum the amount of time and effort required to engage a garment upon the hanger.

Another object of my invention is the provision of a garment hanger capable of operation with the utmost facility in the manner indicated, and yet adapted to retain the garment or garments engaged thereupon with ample security against inadvertent dislodgment and in the best possible form for the retention of the garments shape and press. Toward this end, a locking bar is provided, adapted to press the garment into firmer engagement upon the rigid bar and thus enhance the security of the garments support by the device.

A further object in this connection is the provision of a locking bar as described of such design that its operation can be accomplished substantially instantaneously, and so arranged that it can be withdrawn from the rigid bar to such position that it does not interfere with the placing of garments thereupon, or their removal therefrom when desired.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a garment hanger of the character described which is capable of supporting a plurality of garments with equal facility and security.

Another object is the provision of a garment hanger possessed of the advantages referred to, and yet of such inexpensive construction that it is adapted for economical production and. distribution and of such simple construction that it operates quickly and efficiently and with minimum liability of becoming out of order. I

The invention possesses other objects and features of advantage, some of which, with those enumerated, will be set forth in the following description of the preferred embodiment of my invention illustrated in the drawing accompanying and forming a part of the specification. It is to be understood, however, that I do not limit myself to the showing made by the said drawing and description, as I may adopt variations of the preferred form withinthe scope of my invention as set forth in the claims.

Referring to the drawing:

Figure l is a view in front elevation of a garment hanger embodying the principles of the pr sent invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation, showing the manher of engagement of a pair of trousers thereupon. The position of the locking bar when withdrawn is indicated in broken lines; and parts of the figure are broken away and shown in section in order to reveal the construction.

Figure 3 is a detail view in section showing the manner of engagement of the bars upon their respective supporting frames. The plane of section is indicated by the line 33 of Figure 2, and the direction of View by the arrows.

In terms of broad inclusion, the garment hanger of the present invention comprises a base adapted to be mounted upon a suitable support and carrying a horizontal bar mounted upon the base by means which make connection with the car only at its under surface, leaving the top and sides of the bar unobstructed, with the result that garments can be engaged thereupon merely by laying them across the bar with the ends of the garment hanging downwards therefrom on opposite sides. Disposed in parallelism and in cooperative relationship with this bar is a locking bar adapted to engage garments so laid across the first mentioned bar; and one of the two bars, preferably the latter, is movable toward and away from the other so that garments hung over the first mentioned bar in the manner described can optionally be securely fastened thereupon or released.

More specifically described, that embodiment of my garment hanger which is illustrated in the drawing comprises a base 3 adapted for hanging upon a vertical surface, such as a wall, door, or the like, toward which end it is provided with preferably a plurality of holes I and 8 for the reception of screws or the like. Adjacent the lower end of the base, a bracket 9 is provided for the support of a horizontal garment receiving bar H; preferably the bracket 9 is in the form .of a pair of spaced parallel legs l2 each of which extends from adjacent the side edge of the base 6. To impart greater rigidity to the bracket 9, each of these legs is provided with a vertical portion !3 extending upwards along the forward face of the base 6 for a material length and having at its upper end a short inwardly extending portion I4 seated within a complementary socket in the base 6 securely fastening the leg against displacement. Preferably these vertically extending portions l3 are concealed byadecorative post or cover strip 15. At the lower end of the vertically extending portion [3, each leg 12 has a forwardly extending portion i6 preferably substantially horizontal and at the forward end of this portion each leg extends substantially vertically upwards to the bar II as indicated at H. It is apparent therefore that the bar H is supported from underneath only, leaving its top and sides unobstructed. This is one of the important features of the present invention inasmuch as it affords the utmost convenience in placing garments upon the hanger.

The garment hanger is also provided with a locking or clamping bar 2| disposed parallel to and in co-operative relationship with the garment receiving bar so as to aid in retaining garments thereupon. However, the clamping bar 2| is movable to and from its operative. position, thereby permitting its withdrawal when it is desired to place garments upon the hanger and remove them therefrom. Toward this end.

the locking bar 2| is carried by frame 22 which also comprises a pair of spaced parallel legs 23 and 24*- rigidly interconnected by a cross-bar 26. At their inner ends the legs 23 and 24 are defiected outwardsto provide axially aligned pintles 2.1 journalled within suitable sockets in the inner faces of the cover strips IS. The locking bar 2| is carried upon the outer ends of these parallel legs 23 and 2G. It is apparent therefore that the locking bar 2E is mounted for pivotal movement optionally to the full line position of Figure 2 wherein it is disposed adjacent to the garment receiving bar H or withdrawn therefrom upwards and inwards toward the base 5. A coil spring 28 is secured at one end of the base 6 as by a screw 29 and at the other end to the crossbar 26. This spring 28, being under tension, serves to retain the pivotally mounted locking bar 2| in either of its two optional positions inasmuch as while swinging from one position to the other the frame 22 carries the spring 28 past its dead-center position; therefore, the looking bar 2| is resiliently and releasably retained either in its operating position or its withdrawn position, shown in full lines and broken lines respectively in Figure 2.

The locking bar 2| and its supporting frame 22 are so arranged with respect to the rigid garment receiving bar N that when the locking bar 2 is in operating position it overlies the rigid bar H, but instead of being directly above it, is dis posed slightly inwards toward the base 6 as clearly shown upon Figure 2 As described hereinabove, the step of disposing a garment upon the hanger requires merely that the garment be laid over the rigid bar I|, thus permitting ends of the garment to hang downward upon opposite sides of the bar in much the same manner as one would lay a garment over the back of a chair. For example, Figure 2 illustrates a pair of trousers hung upon the hanger. Before placing the trousers upon the hanger, the operator has grasped the trousers by the cuffs and folded them at the creases, placing the two cuifs together with their respective front and after creases in contact with each other, then the operator has merely laid the legs of the trousers over the rigid bar H with the cufis 3i hanging down from the bar II and between the bracket 9 and the base 6, the legs 32 of the trousers thus being permitted to hang down from the front of the bar II. It has been found that inasmuch as a material length of the garment hangs down upon each side of the bar H, a sufficient degree of friction between the bar and the garment develops to retain the garment against inadvertent displacement from the bar by sliding over it. This is explained by the fact that something of a snubbing action develops, and even though a considerably greater weight isimposed upon that portion of the garment which hangs down from the front of the bar, the Weight of the cuffs 3| and that portion of the legs between the cuffs and the bar H is sufficient to develop the amount of friction with the bar which is necessary to prevent the garment from sliding. The manner in which the locking bar 2| is positioned, which has been described in detail hereinabove is significant inasmuch as it aids the locking bar in co-cperating with the rigid bar to develop this snubbing action, as it presses the garment more firmly against the rigid bar and thus serves to increase the amount of friction therebetween. However, as a precautionary measure, the locking bar 2| is provided with a flat face 36 on that side thereof which is proximal to the supporting frame 22. As clearly shown in Figure 2, this fiat face serves to present a relatively abrupt shoulder or edge along that portion of the looking bar with which the upper edges of the cuffs 3i would come in con act if the garment should start slipping over the rigid bar ii.

In some instances it may be desirable also to provide a leaf spring 3? secured as by screw 38 to the base 6 extending downwards and outwards to a position adjacent the inner face of the rigid bar 5|. This spring presses upwards and outwards against the bar H, but is relatively soft so that it can be pressed away from the bar easily to permit a garment to be thrust therebetween. The lower end of this spring 3'! is preferably curled inwards as indicated at 35 so as to prevent its becoming caught in the fabric of any garments placed upon hanger. This spring tends to wrap the garments further around the rigid bar i i thus further enhance the snubbing action mentioned hereinabcve.

The parts are so proportioned and arranged that the rigid bar H is disposed at a material distance from the base 6 and also above the horizontal portions iii of its supporting bracket 9, the purpose being to permit the garment hanger to accommodate a plurality of garments. Particularly desirable is the space thus provided when the garment hanger is to be used to support a plurality of pairs of trousers having cuffs because of the increased thickness of such garments caused by the multiple layers of fabric necessary to provide the cuffs. However, it should be observed that so efiicient is the snubbing action between garments and the ri id bar over which they are hanging that even in the case of those garments not provided with cuffs, such as womens slacks, there is no tendency for the garments to be released be permitted to fall from the hanger. Furthermore, the garments are held in the most desirable shape to preserve their form and press, particularly in the case of creased trousers or slacks because they are folded sharply at the creases and merely laid over a horizontal supporting bar which not only permits the garment to hang naturally, but

also actually tends to sharpen the creases. l-Icwever, the predominating feature of the device for operated with the utmost ease. Since the rigid bar II is entirely unobstructed, after the locking bar 2| has been moved to its withdrawn position all the operator has to do is to lay the garments over the rigid bar, a step which is so simple that it actually can be performed with one hand. The fingers of that hand should then press the cuffs down and between the rigid bar ii and the leaf spring 3?, whereupon the palm of the hand can be pressed against the garment where it curves around the rigid bar 6 holding garment against falling off the bar while the fingers of the same hand reach up to engage the looking bar 2| and pull it downwards into engagement with the garment, securely anchoring the garment against dislodgment from the hanger. If it is desired to place a second garment upon the same hanger, the operation is repeated, the second garment merely being laid over the first already in position.

Another feature of importance that should be mentioned is the fact that both bars II and 2| are demountable from their respective sup-porting frames. The manner of their detachment from the frames is indicated in Figure 3, which illustrates the locking bar 2| and a portion of its frame 22, although it should be understood the manner of the engagement of the rigid bar upon its bracket 9 is similar. At the extremities of the legs 23 and 24 of the frame 22 they are deflected outwards slightly in relatively sharp points 4|. lhe holes 42 in the bar 2| into which the legs 23 and 24 are thrust are preferably slightly larger than the legs,thus permitting the ends of the legs 23 and 24 to be sprung together slightly as they are thrust into the holes 42. When the ends of the legs 23 and 24 reach the bottoms of the holes 42, the legs 23 and 24 should. be permitted to spring outwards, whereupon the inherent resiliency of the material of which the legs are made will cause the points 4| to penetrate the material of the bar 2| and thus firmly anchor the bar upon the frame. The importance of this feature lies in the fact that it permits shipment and sale of the device in knockeddown form and assemblage by the purchaser with utmost facility and without requiring the use of any tools.

I claim:

1. A garment hanger of the character described, comprising a base adapted to be mounted in vertical position, a pair of spaced legs extending outwards therefrom for a predetermined distance and then extending upwards substantially in parallelism to said base, and a garment-receiving bar rigidly mounted upon the upper ends of said legs, said bar being materially longer than the spacing between said legs and both ends of the bar extending laterally beyond said legs, said rigid bar being horizontally disposed and having its top, sides, and ends unobstructed whereby a garment can be engaged thereupon by folding'said garment around said bar with ends of the garment hanging downwards therefrom upon opposite sides thereof, said bar being spaced sufiiciently from said base and from the outwardly extending portions of said legs to accommodate the cuffs of a plurality of garments within the spaced defined thereby.

2. A garment hanger of the character described, comprising a base adapted to be mounted in vertical position, a pair of spaced legs extending outwards therefrom for a predetermined distance and then extending upwards substantially in parallelism to said base, a garment-receiving bar rigidly mounted upon the upper ends of said legs, said rigid bar being horizontally disposed and having its top and sides unobstructed whereby a garment can be engaged thereupon by folding said garment around said bar with ends of the garment hanging downwards therefrom upon opposite sides thereof, said bar being spaced sufficiently from said base and from. the outwardly extending portions of said legs to accommodate the cuffs of a pluralityof garments within the space thus defined, a locking bar adjustably mounted upon said base for movement optionally to garment-engaging position adjacent and parallel to said rigid bar or to withdrawn position spaced therefrom far enough to release garments thereupon, and spring means for releasably retaining said locking bar in either of its two said positions.

3. In a garment hanger of the character described, a horizontally disposed bar, supporting means rigid therewith and extending substantially vertically downwards therefrom at points spaced from the ends of the bar, whereby the top, sides and ends of the bar are left unobstructed and a garment can be engaged thereupon by folding said garment around the bar with the ends of the garment hanging downwards therefrom upon opposite sides thereof and said garment can be removed from the bar by sliding it while still folded longitudinally of the bar off an end thereof, and a locking bar movably mounted adjacent said first mentioned bar and movable theretoward in parallelism therewith to engage a garment upon said first mentioned bar.

4. A garment hanger of the character described, comprising a base adapted to be mounted in vertical position, a post aflixed to said base adjacent each lateral edge thereof, a leg associated with each of said posts and comprising a vertical portion extending longitudinally of and concealed within the post, an inwardl extending portion at the upper end of said vertical portion fitted within a socket in said base, a portion extending outwardly from the lower end of the vertical portion to a position spaced materially in front of said base and an outer vertical portion extending upwards from the outer end of said outwardly extending portion, a garment-receiving bar rigidly mounted upon the upper ends of said outer vertical portions of said legs, said bar being horizontally disposed and having its top, sides and ends unobstructed whereby a garment can be engaged thereupon by folding said garment around said bar with the ends of the garment hanging downwards therefrom upon opposite sides thereof and said garment can be removed from said bar by sliding it while still folded longitudinally of the bar off an end thereof, and a locking bar disposed parallel to said first mentioned bar and movable theretoward to engage a garment upon said first mentioned bar,

5. A garment hanger comprising a base, supporting means extending rigidly therefrom, a garment-receiving bar rigidly mounted upon said supporting means, both ends of said bar extending laterally beyond said supporting means and the top, sides and ends of said bar being unobstructed whereby a garment can be engaged thereupon by draping the garment thereover with the ends of the garment hanging downwards upon opposite sides thereof, and can be removed therefrom by sliding the garment laterally off an end of said bar, and a leaf spring mounted on said base and pressing resiliently against said bar to engage a garment supported by the bar and releasably retaining it thereupon.

CHARLES TYLER. 

